TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Disability Advocates

Short Holiday Trips Delight a Long-Underserved Market: People with Mild to Moderate Disabilities

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girl holding a present with candy canes
credit: Kira Aufderheide

Since 1985, New Directions Travel has worked to make the lives of people with mild or moderate disabilities happier via travel. Since then, these accessible travel pioneers, based in Santa Barbara, California, have greatly expanded. They’re now super-serving this underserved niche, offering short trips during the key holiday season. Their Happy Holidays trips are planned around Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas and are run by trained staff and dozens of volunteers. The groups visit Disneyland, San Francisco, and Hawaii. Packages include luxury rooms, gourmet meals, gifts, visits from Santa and days of serious fun. Their motto is “Joy is for everyone”. That spirit shows on every smiling face on their website. Read more.

Accessible and Eco-Friendly Beach Planned for Costa Rica—and It Will Be Made of Recycled Bottle Caps

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a beautiful ocean scene with a walkway that goes straight down to theater
credit: Dona Capa

There are currently no wheelchair accessible beaches anywhere in Central America—but Costa Rican organizations are working together to change that. Currently, Jacó on the Pacific coast and Cahuita on the Caribbean coast have made plans to build walkways out of recycled plastic bottle caps—putting to good use the plastics that pollute our waterways. What makes this plan even more special? The wide walkways will be designed to connect sidewalks with the sea so that people in wheelchairs or with reduced mobility can reach the water. Read more.

On a Roll: Magazine Names TravelAbility Summit Board Member Cory Lee Woodard Person of the Year

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a picture of Cory Lee outside of the Taj Mahal
credit: Cory Lee Woodard

TravelAbility Summit Board Member Cory Lee Woodard was recently chosen as “Person of the Year” by New Mobility Magazine. Through his travel blog, Curb Free with Cory Lee, he has become the face (and heart) of accessible travel and we are honored to have him and his lived experience to help guide content for our events. In his spare time, Cory Lee is working on a 55-item bucket list that includes seeing the Superbowl and snorkeling the Great Reef Barrier in Australia. He recently crossed seeing the Taj Mahal off his list. Read more.

Understanding the Travel Needs of the Mentally Impaired

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In many cultures and societies, having a disability is related to a curse, disease, helplessness, and dependence. What many do not know is that there are ways in which one can form a different viewpoint on a person with a disability and that is where an organization like New Directions Travel in Santa Barbara, California can assist an individual in changing their mindset. New Directions Travel is a nonprofit organization located in the Santa Barbara area that takes individuals with mild to moderate disabilities on local, national, and international travel and holiday programs. Throughout the year New Directions takes multiple trips both near and far. One trip that is most rewarding is the one that happens every December at Disneyland which is called Holiday Happiness. For more, click here.

Wheelchair Riders Tow Plane

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London’s Heathrow Airportwas the host on Nov. 23 to a Guinness World Records® official attempt in support of Aerobility’s mission to help people with disabilities participate in aviation. The airport’s “Wheels4Wings”event had a team of 100 people in wheelchairs pull a 127.6 ton 787-9 Boeing Dreamliner over 100 meters, beating the previous record of 67 tons held by a Belgian team.

Funds raised from this event will go towards Aerobility’s programs, helping people with disabilities participate in aviation. Aerobility provides “experience of a lifetime” trial flying lessons for as many terminally ill and disabled people as possible. It also provides subsidized flying days for other disability charities and at-cost instruction and qualification flight training to disabled people.

Participants in the fundraising event included security officers, volunteers and operational staff from across Heathrow. All have benefitted from the airport’s newly established Dignity and Care training program, which focuses on improving the journeys of passengers with hidden and visible disabilities. The event also celebrated Heathrow’s new mandatory process for airlines, which will see passengers arriving at the airport automatically reunited with their personal wheelchairs at the entrance to the aircraft, when they descend.

The Wheels4Wings event is being held during a year of rapid changes for Heathrow in which investments of £23 million ($29.3 million) were made in new equipment, resources and technology to improve service for people with disabilities. The airport also introduced innovations such a distinctive lanyard for passengers with hidden disabilities. The airport’s regulator, the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, acknowledged the significant steps Heathrow has taken to improve its service for people with disabilities. With further focus in the area still being applied, the airport is currently ranked “good” in its services and handling offered.

Organizer of the event, Heathrow Aircraft Operations Manager Andy Knight, said: “As a wheelchair user myself, a former pilot and an aviation enthusiast, I am committed to supporting Aerobility and I am proud of the role Heathrow has taken to support its diversity and inclusion goals. I hope today will see the team raise a lot of funds for Aerobility’s fantastic causes, but also foster a greater awareness of the unique challenges people with disabilities face in aviation, and push for improvements for their benefit – whether they choose to be a passenger in an aircraft or at the controls.”

Source: eTurboNews

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